Although the firm recognizes that beginning a legal career is a highly individualized process, we also appreciate the importance of providing a framework for professional development. This recognition led us to develop a comprehensive professional development program for associates. Our goal is to provide education and training with established benchmarks while allowing the flexibility necessary for individual growth.

First-Year Associates

Our first-year associate professional development program is designed to facilitate the transition from law student or law clerk to a practicing lawyer at Robinson & Cole. Training is provided on both a firmwide scale and a practice-specific basis.

An integral part of our professional development program is orientation which begins during an associate's first week with the firm, followed by monthly seminars. Orientation, professional development programs, seminars, presentations and discussions are conducted by Robinson & Cole's partners and senior associates who can offer advice based on their experiences.

Presentation topics are selected to develop new lawyers' skills and increase understanding of both procedure and substance in the firm's practices. Monthly seminars include important topics such as pro bono work, client relations skills, and practice administration.

Continuing Professional Development

Professional development continues throughout our lawyers' careers and is intended to supplement the individual process of continuing education, within and outside the firm. Within the firm, Robinson & Cole conducts numerous internal legal education seminars on timely subjects. For instance, we recently introduced an educational luncheon discussion series called "Food for Thought" that addresses various hot topics in the law which are of interest to our lawyers.

Practice-specific training programs evolve as associates' careers progress. To augment the training process, each practice develops its own specific training programs, conducts internal seminars on current subjects, and hosts guest speakers to address timely topics. For example, litigation associates in their first and second years participate in our Trial Training Program, which consists of 9 monthly seminars on different aspects of trial advocacy presented by the partners and counsel of the firm and culminates in mock jury trials conducted by the participants. Professional development also includes training at the Practicing Law Institute or various programs run by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy locally, regionally and nationally.

Photographs from the most recent mock trials are posted here. First- and second-year associates enrolled in the Trial Training Program act as advocates and are coached by senior trial attorneys. The deliberations of the jury, consisting of summer associates and staff, are viewed by closed-circuit television, giving participants a rare look at how juries work to a verdict. Participants make full use of the firm's technological resources and support staff during the trial. Trials take place in the mock trial room of our Hartford office.

Evaluations

Robinson & Cole realizes that an essential aspect of professional development is receiving meaningful evaluations of work product and lawyering skills. This realization led us to adopt an evaluation program that provides our attorneys with feedback on their development every six months.

The evaluation process offers constructive feedback to associates in a wide variety of important areas such as communication skills, writing ability, relations with clients, and professionalism. Additionally, the evaluations provide a way of tracking community involvement, speaking engagements, publications, and other professional activities.

As our associates' careers progress, Robinson & Cole works with each individual to develop well rounded lawyers, with personal satisfaction relating to their careers.